System and method of providing targeted advertising during video telephone calls

ABSTRACT

A system in a telecommunications network for providing targeted advertising to subscribers utilizing display screens to conduct a video telephone call. The system comprises a centralized database of subscriber advertising preferences, an information source, a calling subscriber&#39;s switch connected to the database and the information source, and a called subscriber&#39;s switch connected to the calling subscriber&#39;s switch. The database of subscriber advertising preferences stores advertising preferences for subscribers in the network, and is updated whenever a subscriber selects a displayed advertisement for more information. The information source stores a plurality of advertisements, and includes an advertisement selector which selects advertisements based on the advertising preferences for an identified subscriber such as the calling subscriber. The calling subscriber&#39;s switch retrieves the advertising preferences for the calling subscriber from the database and sends the preferences to the information source. The switch then retrieves the selected advertisements from the information source and generates a window on the calling subscriber&#39;s display screen which displays the retrieved advertisements. The retrieved advertisements are also sent to the called subscriber&#39;s switch for simultaneous display to the called subscriber.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates to telecommunication networks, and in particular,to a system for providing targeted advertisements to subscribers duringvideo telephone calls.

2. Description of Related Art

Video teleconferencing has existed for a number of years, but due to itshigh-cost, it has not gained widespread acceptance. As technologyadvances, methods are being developed to provide more bandwidth overtelephone lines, making the possibility of widespread video telephonymore realistic. However, the cost is still too high for widespreadapplications in the commercial and private sectors.

Concurrently, advertisers continue to look for new ways to advertisetheir products, and to advertise more effectively. Methods of targetingadvertising have become increasingly sophisticated. For example, manygrocery stores now print coupons for customers at the checkout counterwhich provide discounts for items similar to those that the customerjust purchased. Meanwhile, commercial use of the Internet also continuesto grow. Revenues from advertisements are increasingly used to makeInternet services viable. Search engines on the Internet and pushtechnology provide constantly updated advertisements to consumers.

It would be a distinct advantage to have a system that provides targetedadvertising to telephone subscribers who are involved in a videotelephone call. Fees from such advertising could be utilized tosubsidize the high cost of video telephony, thus enabling widespread useof this technology. Such a system would also provide advertisers with anew medium for selling their goods and services. The present inventionprovides such a system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention is a system in a telecommunicationsnetwork for providing targeted advertising to subscribers utilizingdisplay screens to conduct a video telephone call. The system comprisesa centralized database of subscriber advertising preferences, aninformation source, a calling subscriber's switch connected to thedatabase and the information source, and a called subscriber's switchconnected to the calling subscriber's switch. The database of subscriberadvertising preferences stores advertising preferences for subscribersin the network, including the calling subscriber. The information sourceincludes a plurality of advertisements, and means for selectingadvertisements from the plurality of advertisements based on theadvertising preferences for an identified subscriber such as the callingsubscriber. The calling subscriber's switch includes means forretrieving the advertising preferences for the calling subscriber fromthe database and sending the preferences to the information source. Theswitch also includes means for retrieving the selected advertisementsfrom the information source, and means for generating a window on thecalling subscriber's display screen which displays the retrievedadvertisements. The retrieved advertisements are also sent to the calledsubscriber's switch for simultaneous display to the called subscriber.

The database may also store advertising preferences for the calledsubscriber, and the information source may also select advertisementsbased on the advertising preferences for the called subscriber. Theseadvertisements may be retrieved and sent to the called subscriber'sswitch for display to the called subscriber during the call.

The displays are interactive displays, and the subscribers may selectparticular advertisements for which they desire more information. Whenan advertisement is selected, both subscribers view the additionalinformation. If the two subscribers are viewing different advertisementsbased on their differing preferences when an advertisement is selectedby one of the subscribers, the selected advertisement takes precedence,and is shown to both subscribers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and its numerous objects andadvantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art byreference to the following drawings, in conjunction with theaccompanying specification, in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative drawing of an exemplary interactive displayscreen 1 during operation of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a first embodiment of the systemof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a second embodiment of thesystem of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is an illustrative drawing of an exemplary interactive displayscreen 1 during operation of the present invention. From thesubscriber's perspective, the present invention places a small window 2in a portion of the video screen during a video telephone call. Whilethe main part 3 of the screen displays an image of the other subscriberengaged in the telephone call, the small window displays a series oftargeted advertisements. The invention, however, does more than justplace a small image into a larger image. By utilizing an interactivedisplay, the user is provided with the opportunity to select the smallimage in order to get more information about the displayedadvertisements.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a first embodiment of thepresent invention. A calling subscriber 11 and a called subscriber 12are engaged in a video telephone call utilizing interactive videodisplays 13 and 14, and video conferencing telephones 15 and 16,respectively. The calling subscriber's telephone 15 is connected to acalling subscriber's switch 17. The calling subscriber's switch, inturn, is connected to a switch 18 for the called subscriber. The systemmaintains a central database of subscriber preferences 19 for each videosubscriber in the network. The present invention may be utilized witheither landline telecommunications networks or radio telecommunicationsnetworks; therefore, the central database of subscriber preferences maybe stored in a home location register (HLR), a service control point(SCP), in a combined HLR/SCP 20 as shown in FIG. 2, or any othersuitable database. An information source 21 containing a library ofadvertisements 22 and an advertisement selector 23 is also connected tothe calling subscriber's telephone switch.

When the calling subscriber initiates a video telephone call, aswitching mechanism 24 within the calling subscriber's switch 17 handlesthe call by connecting to a switching mechanism 25 within the calledsubscriber's switch 18. The switching mechanism 24 also accesses thecentral database 19 and retrieves advertising preferences for thecalling subscriber. The calling subscriber's database is populated withadvertising preferences by recording which advertisements the callingsubscriber has selected to view for more information in the past. Thepreferences may also be set based on data entered by the operator. Forexample, a customer profile based on demographics (age, sex, profession,income, leisure activities, etc.) may be utilized.

The preferences are then sent to the advertising selector 23 in theinformation source 21, and based on the calling subscriber'spreferences, the selector then searches in the advertisement library 22for advertisements for related goods and services. A few unrelatedadvertisements may also be selected in order to test their appeal on thecalling subscriber. If the calling subscriber subsequently selects anunrelated advertisement, this new selection is utilized to update thesubscriber's preferences in the calling subscriber's database. Theselected advertisements are retrieved by the calling subscriber's switch17 where an advertisement window generator 26 places the advertisementsin the small window 2 on the calling subscriber's display 13. Thecalling subscriber's switch also sends the selected advertisements tothe called subscriber's switch 18 where an advertisement windowgenerator 27 places the advertisements in the small window on the calledsubscriber's display 14. Alternatively, each video telephone may includea window generator which generates the small window on the display andplaces the selected advertisements in the small window.

In the preferred embodiment, advertisements are displayed to both thecalling subscriber and the called subscriber, and preferably, at any onetime, the same advertisement is simultaneously shown to each subscriber.Then, if either subscriber finds a particular advertisement interesting,the advertisement can be selected and discussed. The selection may bemade in any manner known in the art such as using a mouse and clickingon the small window, or by using the CTRL key on a keyboard along with agiven letter (for example, CTRL-V for "view"), etc. Since selections maybe made by either the calling subscriber or the called subscriber, thecalling subscriber's preferences may also be influenced by thosesubscribers whom the calling subscriber calls. For example, during atypical video telephone call, either the calling subscriber or thecalled subscriber may find a displayed advertisement interesting, andmay select it for further information. This selection, whether it ismade by the calling subscriber or the called subscriber, may then beutilized to update the calling subscriber's preferences in thecentralized database 19. In this manner, the advertisements that areshown to the calling subscriber reflect the interests not only of thecalling subscriber, but also the interests of the calling subscriber'sfamily and friends.

In order to update the calling subscriber's preferences following theselection of an advertisement by a called subscriber, the preferences ofthe subscribers are linked in the preference database 19. In the callingsubscriber's profile, there is a list of frequently called subscribernumbers. For each of these numbers in the calling subscriber's profile,there is a history of the types of advertisements which have beenselected by either party during calls between the calling subscriber andthat particular called subscriber. If called subscriber #3, for example,selects an advertisement during a call with the calling subscriber, thisfact is recorded in the calling subscriber's profile in an entrycorresponding to frequently called number #3. Regardless of whether thecalling subscriber or the frequently called subscriber #3 performs the"clicking" operation to select the advertisement, the entry in thecalling subscriber's profile corresponding to called subscriber #3 isupdated. In this manner, the calling subscriber's profile reflects thefact that this calling subscriber and this frequently called subscriber#3 are likely to talk together about the topic of this type ofadvertisement.

Thus, when the ad selector 23 selects advertisements based on the dataretrieved from the calling subscriber's profile, the selectedadvertisements reflect the preferences of both the calling subscriberand the called subscriber. As an example, the calling subscriber mayhave four types of advertisements that he likes to choose. Additionally,frequently called number #1 (his wife, for example) may have verydifferent tastes than frequently called number #2 (his brother, forexample), and may choose different advertisements. When the callingsubscriber calls his wife, if at least one of the four types ofadvertisements that he likes is shared with those of called number #1,then that type of advertisement is chosen first by the ad selector 23.When the calling subscriber calls his brother, if at least one of thefour types of advertisements that he likes is shared with those ofcalled number #2, then that type of advertisement is chosen first by thead selector 23.

This method of building a database of preferences for the callingsubscriber may be utilized to build a database of preferences for anyconsumer (referred to as the first consumer). The method then includesthe steps of adding a preference to the first consumer's databasewhenever the first consumer purchases or requests information about aproduct, determining at least one additional consumer associated withthe first consumer, and adding a preference to the first consumer'sdatabase whenever the additional consumer purchases or requestsinformation about a product.

When advertisements are running in the small window 2, they may be stillphotographs, video, or other graphics, and may be displayed in timeintervals of, for example, 5-15 seconds each. When an advertisement isselected by a subscriber, the selection is reported to the informationsource 21 which retrieves a longer, more detailed advertisement relatingto the selected advertisement. The detailed advertisement, which mayalso include audio, is then presented to the subscribers. In addition,the displayed advertisement may enlarge to fill a larger portion or allof the screen. When this occurs, the image of the other subscriber maybe placed within the small window. When the detailed advertisement isfinished, the advertisement display returns to the small window, and theimage of the other subscriber is enlarged to its original size. Theselecting subscriber may also click on the image of the other subscriberduring the running of the detailed advertisement to cancel it and returnit to the small window.

Each subscriber's preference profile may also include informationregarding which advertisements have been shown, how many times they havebeen shown, and how many times they were selected for more information.If an advertisement is shown a predetermined number of times, and is notselected for further information, it may be deleted from the preferenceprofile. Additionally, the above information may be passed to theadvertisement selector 23 which then ensures that each advertisementreflected in the profile is shown an appropriate number of times, and inan appropriate position in the sequence. This may be accomplished byrandomly selecting advertisements and showing them in random order, orby showing priority advertisements more often and in a position in thesequence that is known to have a higher rate of being selected.

By entering a feature change request, the calling subscriber may turnthe advertising system on or off. When placing a business call, forexample, the calling subscriber may want to turn the advertising systemoff. When placing a personal call, however, the calling subscriber maywant to turn the advertising system on. If desired, the network operatormay apply reduced billing rates when the advertising system is turnedon. This provides incentive for subscribers to utilize the advertisingsystem, and with more subscribers using the system, more advertisers arelikely to utilize the system, thus generating increased revenue for thenetwork operator. A note may be placed in the charging record toindicate that an advertisement was selected. The note may simply be amarker to indicate that an advertisement was selected, or it mayindicate which specific advertisement was selected, and how long theadvertisement was viewed. In this way, many billing options becomeavailable to the system operator. A first reduced rate may be chargedfor simply having the advertising system turned on. A second reducedrate may be charged if an advertisement is selected and viewed for asignificant period of time. Additionally, the system operator mayconclude separate marketing agreements with advertisers who pay aportion of the toll if their advertisements are viewed for a significantperiod of time.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a second embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the calling subscriber may beshown advertisements that reflect the calling subscriber's preferenceswhile the called subscriber is shown advertisements that reflect thecalled subscriber's preferences. If one of the subscribers selects anadvertisement for further information, the selected advertisement may begiven precedence, and is then displayed to both subscribers so that itmay be discussed.

In this embodiment, the advertising preferences for each subscriber areretrieved from the centralized preference database 19. Each subscriber'sswitch may access the database directly, or alternatively, the callingsubscriber's switch 17 may retrieve the preferences for both subscribersand forward the called subscriber's preferences to the calledsubscriber's switch 18 during call setup. Each subscriber's preferencesare then sent to the advertising selector 23 in the information source21. The selector searches in the advertisement library 22 and selectsadvertisements for goods and services related to the callingsubscriber's preferences. These advertisements are retrieved by thecalling subscriber's switch 17. The selector also searches in theadvertisement library and selects advertisements for goods and servicesrelated to the called subscriber's preferences. These advertisements areretrieved by the called subscriber's switch 18. In the callingsubscriber's switch, an advertisement window generator 26 places theadvertisements retrieved for the calling subscriber in the small windowon the calling subscriber's display 13. In the called subscriber'sswitch, an advertisement window generator 27 places the advertisementsretrieved for the called subscriber in the small window on the calledsubscriber's display 14.

If one of the subscribers selects an advertisement for furtherinformation, the system preempts the displayed advertisement on theother subscriber's display, and displays the selected advertisement toboth subscribers so that it may be discussed.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a third embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the called subscriber's switch 18does not require its own ad window generator or ad switching mechanism.Instead, the calling subscriber's switch 17 inserts the advertisementwindow in both call paths, one toward the calling subscriber, andanother toward the called subscriber.

The present invention may also be utilized during conference calls withmore than two parties. In a "meet me" conference call, each subscribercalls into a predetermined number for a conference bridge. Thus, everysubscriber is a calling subscriber since the called number is aconference device. In this case, each subscriber may view advertisementschosen according to each subscriber's own preference profile.Alternatively, the profile of one of the subscribers (such as the onebeing charged for the call) may be designated as the profile to use fora particular call. In this case, all of the subscribers involved in thecall would view advertisements selected from the designated profile.

It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the presentinvention will be apparent from the foregoing description. While themethod, apparatus and system shown and described has been characterizedas being preferred, it will be readily apparent that various changes andmodifications could be made therein without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing advertising to subscribersconducting a video telephone call, said system comprising:a callingsubscriber's video telephone having a display screen; an informationsource which stores a plurality of video advertisements; a callingsubscriber's switch connected to the calling subscriber's videotelephone and the information source, said switch including:means forretrieving the video advertisements from the information source; andmeans for sending the retrieved advertisements to the callingsubscriber's video telephone; and a database of individual subscriberadvertising preferences connected to the calling subscriber's switch,said database including:advertising preferences for the callingsubscriber; and a first set of advertising preferences for a firstcalled subscriber that the calling subscriber is currently calling; andwherein the means for retrieving the advertisements from the informationsource includes means for retrieving advertisements from the informationsource based on the advertising preferences of the calling subscriberand the first called subscriber that the calling subscriber is currentlycalling.
 2. The system for providing advertising to subscribers of claim1 further comprising means within the calling subscriber's videotelephone for generating a window on the display screen, said windowdisplaying the retrieved advertisements.
 3. The system for providingadvertising to subscribers of claim 1 wherein the calling subscriber'sswitch includes means for generating a window on the display screen ofthe calling subscriber's video telephone, said window displaying theretrieved advertisements.
 4. The system for providing advertising tosubscribers of claim 3 further comprising:a called subscriber's videotelephone having a display screen with a window; and means within thecalling subscriber's switch for sending the retrieved advertisements tothe called subscriber's video telephone for display in the calledsubscriber's window.
 5. The system for providing advertising tosubscribers of claim 4 further comprising:means for a subscriber toselect one of the displayed advertisements; and means for providingadditional information relating to the selected advertisement inresponse to the advertisement being selected.
 6. The system forproviding advertising to subscribers of claim 5 further comprising meansfor updating the advertising preferences of the subscriber who selectedthe selected advertisement in response to the advertisement beingselected.
 7. The system for providing advertising to subscribers ofclaim 1 wherein the database of subscriber advertising preferences alsoincludes a second set of advertising preferences for a second calledsubscriber that the calling subscriber frequently calls, and the meansfor retrieving the advertisements from the information source includesmeans for retrieving advertisements from the information source based onthe advertising preferences of the calling subscriber and the firstcalled subscriber when the calling subscriber is calling the firstcalled subscriber, and for retrieving advertisements from theinformation source based on the advertising preferences of the callingsubscriber and the second called subscriber when the calling subscriberis calling the second called subscriber.
 8. A system for providingtargeted advertising to subscribers utilizing display screens to conducta video telephone call, said system comprising:a database of subscriberadvertising preferences, said database including advertising preferencesfor a calling subscriber; an information source including:a plurality ofadvertisements; and means for selecting advertisements from theplurality of advertisements based on the advertising preferences for thecalling subscriber; a calling subscriber's switch connected to thedatabase and the information source, said switch including:means forretrieving the advertising preferences for the calling subscriber fromthe database and sending the preferences to the information source;means for retrieving the selected advertisements from the informationsource; and means for generating a window on the calling subscriber'sdisplay screen, said window displaying the retrieved advertisements; anda called subscriber's switch connected to the calling subscriber'sswitch.
 9. The system for providing targeted advertising of claim 8wherein the calling subscriber's switch also includes means for sendingthe retrieved advertisements to the called subscriber's switch, and thecalled subscriber's switch includes means for generating a window on thecalled subscriber's display screen, said window displaying the retrievedadvertisements.
 10. The system for providing targeted advertising ofclaim 9 wherein the means for generating a window on the callingsubscriber's display screen and the means for generating a window on thecalled subscriber's display screen include means for displaying asequence of advertisements, each advertisement in the sequence beingdisplayed for approximately 5-15 seconds.
 11. The system for providingtargeted advertising of claim 10 wherein the advertisements in thesequence of advertisements are randomly selected and displayed in randomorder.
 12. The system for providing targeted advertising of claim 10wherein the advertisements in the sequence of advertisements areselected and displayed in accordance with a predetermined priority. 13.The system for providing targeted advertising of claim 10 wherein thedisplay screens are interactive display screens which enable thesubscribers to select an advertisement and request more informationabout the selected advertisement.
 14. The system for providing targetedadvertising of claim 13 wherein the means for retrieving the selectedadvertisements from the information source includes means for retrievingexpanded advertisements for advertisements that are selected by one ofthe subscribers for more information.
 15. The system for providingtargeted advertising of claim 14 wherein the database of subscriberadvertising preferences includes means for adding an advertisingpreference to the database when an associated advertisement is selectedby a subscriber for more information.
 16. The system for providingtargeted advertising of claim 15 wherein the database of subscriberadvertising preferences includes:means for determining how many times aparticular advertisement is displayed, and how many times the particularadvertisement is selected for more information; and means for removingthe associated preference from the database when the particularadvertisement is displayed a predetermined number of times without beingselected for more information.
 17. The system for providing targetedadvertising of claim 16 wherein the database of subscriber advertisingpreferences also includes advertising preferences for a calledsubscriber, and the means for retrieving advertising preferences fromthe database also includes means for retrieving the advertisingpreferences for the called subscriber from the database and sending thecalled subscriber's preferences to the information source.
 18. Thesystem for providing targeted advertising of claim 17 wherein the meansfor selecting advertisements from the plurality of advertisements basedon the advertising preferences for the calling subscriber also includesmeans for selecting advertisements from the plurality of advertisementsbased on the advertising preferences for the called subscriber.
 19. Thesystem for providing targeted advertising of claim 18 wherein the meansfor retrieving the selected advertisements from the information sourceincludes means for retrieving advertisements based on the advertisingpreferences for the calling subscriber and advertisements based on theadvertising preferences for the called subscriber.
 20. The system forproviding targeted advertising of claim 19 wherein the means for sendingthe retrieved advertisements to the called subscriber's switch includesmeans for sending advertisements based on the advertising preferencesfor the called subscriber to the called subscriber's switch.
 21. Asystem in a telecommunications network for providing targetedadvertising to a calling subscriber and a called subscriber utilizingdisplay screens to conduct a video telephone call, said systemcomprising:a centralized database of subscriber advertising preferences,said database including advertising preferences for subscribers withinthe network; an information source including:a plurality ofadvertisements; and means for selecting advertisements from theplurality of advertisements based on the advertising preferences for thecalling subscriber and the called subscriber; a calling subscriber'sswitch connected to the database and the information source, saidcalling subscriber's switch including:means for retrieving theadvertising preferences for the calling subscriber from the database andsending the preferences to the information source; means for retrievingadvertisements selected from the calling subscriber's preferences fromthe information source; and means for generating a window on the callingsubscriber's display screen, said window displaying the retrievedadvertisements selected from the advertising preferences for the callingsubscriber; and a called subscriber's switch connected to the databaseand the information source, said called subscriber's switchincluding:means for retrieving the advertising preferences for thecalled subscriber from the database and sending the preferences to theinformation source; means for retrieving advertisements selected fromthe called subscriber's preferences from the information source; andmeans for generating a window on the called subscriber's display screen,said window displaying the retrieved advertisements selected from theadvertising preferences for the called subscriber.
 22. The system forproviding targeted advertising of claim 21 wherein the display screensare interactive display screens which enable the calling subscriber andthe called subscriber to select a displayed advertisement and requestmore information about the selected advertisement.
 23. The system forproviding targeted advertising of claim 22 wherein the callingsubscriber's switch includes means for sending a displayed advertisementwhich has been selected by the calling subscriber for more informationto the called subscriber's switch for display to the called subscriber.24. The system for providing targeted advertising of claim 23 whereinthe called subscriber's switch includes means for sending a displayedadvertisement which has been selected by the called subscriber for moreinformation to the calling subscriber's switch for display to thecalling subscriber.
 25. A method of building a database of preferencesfor a first consumer comprising the steps of:adding a preference to thefirst consumer's database whenever the first consumer purchases orrequests information about a product; determining a plurality ofadditional consumers with whom the first consumer interacts; building adatabase of preferences for each of the plurality of additionalconsumers based on purchases or requests for information made by eachspecific additional consumer; and selectively combining preferences fromthe first consumer's database and preferences from the database of aspecific additional consumer with whom the first consumer is currentlyinteracting.
 26. The method of building a database of preferences ofclaim 25 wherein the first consumer is a calling subscriber in atelecommunications network, and the additional consumers are additionalsubscribers in the telecommunications network, and the step ofdetermining a plurality of additional consumers with whom the firstconsumer interacts includes identifying a plurality of additionalsubscribers who are frequently called by the calling subscriber.
 27. Themethod of building a database of preferences of claim 25 wherein thefirst consumer is a calling subscriber engaged in a video telephone callin a telecommunications network, and the additional consumers areadditional subscribers in the telecommunications network, and the stepof adding a preference to the first consumer's database whenever thefirst consumer purchases or requests information about a productincludes adding a preference to the calling subscriber's preferencedatabase whenever the calling subscriber selects a video advertisementfor further information during a video telephone call.
 28. The method ofbuilding a database of preferences of claim 27 wherein the firstconsumer is a calling subscriber engaged in a video telephone call in atelecommunications network, and the additional consumers are additionalsubscribers in the telecommunications network, and the step of buildinga database of preferences for each of the plurality of additionalconsumers based on purchases or requests for information made by eachspecific additional consumer includes adding a preference to thepreference database of a specific additional subscriber whenever thespecific additional subscriber selects a video advertisement for furtherinformation during a video telephone call with the calling subscriber.